What do you think?

I have several theories percolating in my brain at this very moment. One has to do with sex so it might never see it's way on to the screen but there, here is my mention of the s word so I can proudly call myself racy today.

Can we even call that a good try? hmmm.

Another one of the theories has to do with what we talk about every day. Sports. Bart and I have had countless conversations on how to motivate the kids to want to do their best. Bart's football team's motto is DO YOUR JOB. How succinct, don't you think? If everyone does their job then the win will come. The quarterback will make a good pass because that falls in his job description. The reciever will catch the ball and deftly handle it to the end zone because he is on task. The blockers will defend and not let a man get through because that is their job. It is a good motto.

My son and his 11 year old friends have shown the skill and talent at practice. They have shown the love of the game in front of my house, in the street, at recess, at 6 am in the morning, at 3 times a week practices. They like each other as a team and also shown that at my house many times inviting them over for football or even sometimes playdoh. However, they have only won two games this year and if asked Bart and the other coaches would say (expletives excluded) they don't do their jobs in games. For whatever reason.

But that is the question, isn't it? What reason is there that they don't do their jobs during game time, the one hour of the week that they actually have spectators and cheerleaders, they get to wear their nifty new uniforms that make them look like "MEN" I've been told, they get to hit people that are not on their own team?!?!

Bart and I have a theory. Simply put, we live in a new area of town. Young marrieds. Young families. Starter homes. These kids for the most part are the firstborn children. They have not sat at the sidelines of siblings games and practices. They have not watched their brothers and older friends play street ball. They have not sat glued to the TV for the 149th superbowl because they are just coming out of the spongebob phase and there has been nobody to change the channel on them. We play against many east side teams. This is a more established neighborhood area. The 10 year olds are the younger kids of the family. They have witnessed and been part of a family tradition of Saturday football on the field and Monday night football at home. They have thrown around a pigskin since they were two. Now ten, they have lived the game so much more than these first borns who were brought up by their mothers and their fathers, not their siblings.

Today I gained scientific based proof on these thoughts. Cooper came home from school and we started the How Was School Today conversation. We have already establshed that the best part of school is recess. Usually we start with that.
"Mom, do you know what is sad? Today I versed Brian in football and he tackled me. Me! He tackled me. Isn't that sad? Nobody tackles me. So I tackled him when he had the ball and he. cried!"
"Cooper, you have to be careful. People are not going to want to play football with you if you hurt them.'
"Mom. That. is. how. you. play. football. You. injure. people." He says this through gritted teeth exasperated that he must even give voice to this absolute truth.

Let's face it. Chase was brought up by Little Bear, Maisy, Steve and Blue and me. Love. Sharing. Cleaning up with a song. Not a helmet or a groin cup in sight. But Cooper. His mentors are Chase, Chase's friends and Ryan. He will be that second generation football player. The one that got brought up by his siblings. The one that is not afraid to hit back. The one that has been hit by a football in his face by his brother and told to laugh it off. The one that learned the end zone dance and loved to do it naked in front of all the friends.

I think that 2010 is going to be a winning season.